Keeping records of consent under CASL

Éloïse Gratton August 5, 2016

The CRTC has recently released a Notice for businesses and individuals advising them on how to keep records of consent. The CRTC confirms that under section 13 of CASL, the onus is on the person who alleges they have consent to send a CEM (typically, the person who sends the CEM) to prove that they have proper consent, either implied or express, to send each message. There have been many challenges for organizations to demonstrate and prove that they have obtained consent. It is therefore recommended that senders of CEMs consider keeping a hard copy or an electronic record of, among others:

  • all evidence of express and implied consent (e.g. audio recordings, copies of signed consent forms, completed electronic forms) from consumers who agree to receive CEMs
  • documented methods through which consent was collected
  • policies and procedures regarding CASL compliance
  • all unsubscribe requests and resulting actions

For more information on record keeping, see the CRTC’s guidance on corporate compliance programs (Compliance and Enforcement Information Bulletin CRTC 2014-326) or the guidance on consent and how to prove consent.

This content has been updated on August 5, 2016 at 16 h 34 min.